Realize
by lollyberry
Summary: It took more than a decade for them to realize their feelings for each other. It took just one thing to tear them apart. Kakasaku


I do not own Naruto.

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_Four ._

When he first met her, he made her cry. The little cotton candy haired girl had walked right into the ANBU and from there on, everything spiralled downwards. Her ice cream cone had fallen splat onto the ground. When tears sprang up from those clear green eyes, he panicked. Kakashi was never good with children, especially crying ones. Rolling her eyes, Kurenai stepped out from the group and held her hand open to the little girl.

"Let's get you a new one okay sweetheart?"

Kakashi's wallet felt especially lighter that day.

_Nine ._

He saw her again when she was nine, training alone at the academy. His lone dark eye watched as she threw kunai after kunai, each no better than the last. She was growing impatient and frustrated and he swore he saw some tears trailing down her face. So he walked towards her and showed her the correct stance and how her body should be when she threw the weapon.

The next day, Iruka praised her about how greatly she had improved in such a short span of time.

_Twelve ._

Sakura had lost any form of admiration for her teacher when he walked through that classroom door. For an elite jounin and former ANBU, he wasn't that bright or cool when he had fallen for Naruto's eraser on the door trick.

_Fifteen ._

Three years does a lot to a person and three years is time enough for someone to change. Sakura was no longer the weakest link in Team 7. Kakashi had thrown her away because of her lacking potential in his eyes, but another had saw what she could be. When she cracked the earth beneath her feet, revealing his hiding spot, he felt a twinge of sadness that he had lost such a great student.

_Sixteen ._

Kakashi saved her from public humiliation when he found her against the wall of the alleyway behind a club. The young man that she was with had his hands in places where Kakashi thought had no right to be. When he pulled him off with a threat of ripping his unmentionables off and throwing them to his dogs the little bastard scampered away like a wounded pup. He then approached the pink haired girl and dragged her home.

The next morning she had no recollection of the last night's events except a feeling that she should be thankful for Kakashi.

_Nineteen ._

Her table was getting rowdier by the hour and with each round of drinks they had the louder they got. Kakashi was alone at the bar that night finishing up some mission reports when he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around he felt a pair of lips pressed against his masked ones, his eyes wide in shock. He looked up when they broke apart and found Sakura triumphantly declare in a not so indoor voice "I won the bet!" and in response a loud roar of applause rang through the entire building.

As she walked back towards her friends, she turned her head ever so slightly and gave him a coy smile with a saucy wink. Heat burned through his cheeks and he high tailed it out of the bar.

That night all he could think of were her warm lips against his.

_Twenty ._

Sakura was called into the hospital in the wee hours of the morning. A team of jounin were ambushed on an S-Class mission while coming back to Konoha. As she walked down the sterile hall she remembered that it was Kakashi's team that had done that very mission. Heart racing and panic starting to rise, even if it was selfish, she hoped to god that Kakashi wasn't injured.

When she went to the ER it was even worse than she thought. Out of the five men that were assigned onto the mission only two survived. The one that was on the table being prepped for surgery was not him, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach made her think of the worse. As she walked out, exhausted and chakra reserves almost depleted her eye caught a dark blotch leaning on the wall. Tears sprang to her clear green eyes as she rushed forward and enveloped her former teacher in a hug.

"I was so worried." she whispered.

"I'm sorry."

_Twenty Two ._

He watched her proudly as she was named ANBU at the inauguration. She was given the honour to be the first kunoichi to be head of the newly formed department of medicines in the organization. Kakashi's smile widened when she turned to face him and mouthed a thank you. As he watched her retreating back, another man walked up beside and put his arm around her waist. A wave of emotion hit him hard and he didn't know what it was and why he was feeling it.

At the bar that night, he watched with mixed feelings as Sakura never let that man go and never seemed to stop kissing him. Kakashi took one last sip from his drink and walked out without saying anything to his former student.

_Twenty Two ._

Four months after her being named ANBU she approached him with anger around her. His lazy eye watched as she not so gracefully walked up towards him and then poke him, or rather jab, in the chest demanding why he had been so distant.

"Missions." he said simply. Sakura glared at him and snorted saying that it's been quiet lately and that the only missions that were available were D and C rank ones.

"If you don't want to see me anymore that you could have just said so! But just plain out ignoring me and giving me the cold shoulder hurts me Kakashi."

When he walked by Ichiraku later on, she was sitting alone on the stool stirring her noodles. Her shoulders were shaking and it made him wonder, who had made her cry? From that point on, they started to drift apart.

_Twenty Four ._

Tsunade had retired from her post as Hokage and Naruto had finally become the Rokudaime. War had broken out between the countries and hundreds of men had been lost. Sakura was resting in her tent when a sudden commotion made her jump up. Slipping on her boots, she peered out of her tent and saw about a dozen stretchers being brought towards the make shift hospital. Nurses and medic nins scrambled to get themselves together and hurried towards the newly injured.

By the time Sakura arrived, the dead already had white sheets covering their bodies and put in a corner elsewhere. A flash of silver caught her attention at the corner of her eye. Like it was four years ago, her heart raced and panic rose in her body.

"Kakashi?"

_Twenty Four ._

He woke up one month later feeling stiff, weak, and sore. His vision was blurry and all he could see were faint little blobs floating around. Frowning he rubbed his eyes but it seemed to get no better. A hand placed itself on his arm, he looked up to see a pink blur and then he was engulfed in a hug. A groan with a string of curses escaped his lips and the grip lessened.

"You're awake." she murmured, then fell against him sobbing.

_Twenty Six ._

She held his large rough hand and led him towards the training grounds, or what it used to be. The war was over, Konoha had won and lost. But in the end, it was bittersweet. Yes there was no more bloodshed and tears but the losses were so great and the damages so severe, it would take years to rebuild and recover. So she described to him what she sees and what has happened. A small sad smile graces his face and she looks at him with a sad smile as well.

"I wish I could see you." was all he said.

_Twenty Seven ._

Kakashi had learned to fight and hone his senses when he had lost his sight. Sakura had told him that when they had brought his team in four had died but the other eight had survived. But what he had done to save them had cost him his vision. Over the years, his once perfect sight had deteriorated and no amount of regeneration could reverse what was happening.

In time he learned to accept it but there was regret. He regretted how they fought six years ago. He hated himself for letting them drift apart so much. Kakashi never got to see her beautiful face and how much she had grown until it was too late. And at that point he couldn't even make out what was in front of him. Sakura knelt beside him now, hand on her katana. They were on a mission to assassinate a group of rogue nin that were known to rob, rape and kill those who came in contact with them. They were no amateurs but well seasoned ninja that knew what they were doing.

With his signal, the Konoha nin jumped in and began to fight.

_Twenty Eight ._

Sakura now stood before the memorial while tears ran down her face, a white lily in hand. The other brushed against the engraving, fingers tracing each groove. With a shuddering breath Sakura placed the lily on the memorial and stepped back.

"I miss you." she whispered.

Her heart ached knowing that she would never see him again. She missed how he would hold her when she cried and how he made her smile with a stupid comment. Most of all she missed how easy it was to be together.

It should have been her that day. But he just had to step in between. That day they had attacked those rogue nin had been hard. She was outnumbered and everyone knew that medic nins would be attacked first. Once the medics were taken out then it meant that the survival of the rest of the team would go down. Several senbon aimed at her vitals were thrown towards her and at that moment she was kept busy with two other shinobi. Before she knew it, Kakashi threw himself to cover her.

One by one the rogue nin fell and in the end only two were injured, Kakashi one of them. Fratically Sakura pumped her chakra into his body but somehow it didn't seem to work. Her eyes looked panicked when she realized that the senbon were poisoned with metals.

By the time they got to Konoha, the silver haired man had fallen into a deep coma. Shizune and Tsunade had done all they could and all that was left was to wait. Days turned to weeks and weeks into months. Then one day he woke. Disoriented and weak, not knowing where he was until Sakura put a hand on his shoulder. Her voice was full of relief when she spoke to him and when he answered every one of her questions correctly, hope filled her heart. Sakura never left his side that night and no one wanted to disturb them. She lay next to him in the hospital bed, both talking in soft hushed voices, their hands entwined with each other.

_Twenty Six ._

Kakashi sat in the dining chair quietly as Sakura prepared their dinner. The delicious smell of pasta and meats filled the air and he could feel his mouth watering. The corners of his lips lifted when he heard the soft voice of Sakura in the kitchen, she was singing again. Her voice got louder as she walked towards the table and placed the dish in front of the man. She was about to sit down but got back up saying she had forgotten something.

It was at that moment Kakashi took the opportunity to grab her arm and swiftly place her onto his lap. Sakura's confusion was evident and again he smiled. His large hand cupped her cheek, feeling the softness and perfection.

"I love you."

The whispered words left his lips, a small smile on her features. The back of his hand caressed her cheek and now both cupped her face. He hesitated before he slowly brushed his masked lips on hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck as her body pressed against his. Pulling apart briefly she pulled down his mask, drinking in his bare face. Within seconds she kissed him deeply, loving how his hands were exploring every part of her body.

Dinner forgotten, the pair left the room still entwined with each other, never letting go.

_Twenty Eight ._

It was one night they could hold each other with love until he succumbed to his injuries. The poison never left his body and the fact that he had woken even for just one day was a miracle. Sakura's heart broke into pieces and she cried harder than she ever thought she could have. And although it had been one year since his death, it never seemed to get any better. The love they had for each other was real and strong. It took more than a decade for them to realize their feelings for each other. It took just one thing to tear them apart.

The night before his death, they kissed and shared one last tender moment and in a way it was the perfect goodbye. And now she stood before the cenotaph, with tears running down her face, heart still mending.

"I love you." she whispered into the wind. The faint rustle of leaves gave comfort as it caressed her body, and at that point she knew that everything was going to be alright.

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**I hope that wasn't confusing for anyone. Just to let you know the numbers are Sakura's age. I thought of this when I woke up this morning and pretty much took me the whole day to write. I honestly really love this pairing. Screw Sasuke and Sakura, Kakashi and Sakura is where it's at now! Haha Oh and I'm sorry if there are any tense issues along with grammar/spelling/etc. I'm not the best editor and my beta is gone on vacation.**

**Please read and review, criticism welcome and etc. **

**Updates for ER will come soon. I've just been busy and all but now that its summer it should start picking up. The third chapter is almost done anyways and then after that its either one more or two more. Yah the story is short, I don't do long stories that well. Get bored of tehm after some time LOL!**

**Expect another kakasaku one shot from me sometime soon. It's almost done and it pretty much took me 6 months to do. More will be explained about it when its actually posted up.**

**Anyways the song that inspired me was Colbie Caillat's Realize.**

**xoxo  
Rachel**


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